Azerbaijani CEC initiates investigation into several political parties

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Azerbaijan has initiated a comprehensive investigation into several political parties that failed to submit their financial reports, CEC deputy chairman Natig Mammadov told APA.

He noted that the CEC is investigating the main causes of these parties’ failure to submit their financial reports.

“The current situation stresses the need to thoroughly investigate the issue of party building in Azerbaijan for more than 20 years,” said Mammadov, adding. “It wouldn’t be right to take administrative actions over non-submission of financial reports. Relevant steps can be taken after conducting in-depth investigations and finding causes of problems. That is to say, party building, powers of different bodies, and parties’ compliance with the law should also be investigated. For example, there are many parties whose chairmen died. So they have organizational problems. Relevant steps can be taken after the comprehensive investigation, which is already underway.”

Mamamdov said that the CEC is looking for ways to simplify the process of submitting financial reports.

It should be noted that 55 political parties are registered in Azerbaijan. Under the law, parties must submit their financial reports to the CEC by April 1 every year. Of them, 44 political parties submitted their annual financial reports to the CEC this year. Fifty-one of them submitted financial reports to the CEC in 2015 and 2016. Eleven parties - Azerbaijan Revival and Progress Party, National Democrat Party, Azerbaijan Peasant Party, Unified Azerbaijan Party, Azerbaijan National Independence Party, National Salvation Party, Azerbaijan National Movement Party, Azerbaijan National Statehood Party, Azerbaijan Patriots' Party, Azerbaijan Democratic Party of Entrepreneurs and Azerbaijan Progress Party did not submit their financial reports to the CEC this year.

Three of aforementioned parties have failed to submit their financial reports over the past two years as well. They are Azerbaijan Revival and Progress Party, Azerbaijan National Movement Party and Azerbaijan Patriots' Party. Azerbaijan Democratic Party of Entrepreneurs didn’t submit the 2015 financial report.